THE HOLLOW OF FEAR - Sherry Thomas
The Lady Sherlock Series
Berkley
ISBN: 9780425281420
October 2018
Mystery

England -19 th  Century

Charlotte Holmes is a unique individual. One of the daughters of Sir Henry Holmes, she has decided that living with her parents and dealing with their stifling lifestyle is not for her. Charlotte is, outwardly to the public, a rather cold, emotionless young woman. She leaves the family home and moves in with her friend, former actress Mrs. Watson, and takes on private investigation jobs posing as Sherlock Holmes. Brilliant, intuitive, and a young lady who enjoys her sweets, Charlotte must now try and save one of the few people in her life that she truly cares about, Ash, Lord Ingram. They grew up together, shared secrets, and now his wife has been found dead in the ice house and Ash is the prime suspect.

Scotland Yard has sent two inspectors to Stern Hollow, Lord Ingram's country home. After questioning the staff, Chief Inspector Fowler zeroes in on Ash, although his assistant, Inspector Treadles, who knows Ash, has a more open mind. The two detectives are a bit put off when they arrive at Stern Hollow and find a portly gentleman called Mr. Sherrinford Holmes already investigating the crime. It is also revealed that this mysterious person is Sherlock's brother. (In reality, this is Charlotte in disguise). Treadles, who knows Charlotte, is suspicious of this man, but realizes that much of what he says, mostly in defense of Ash, is important to the investigation.

Interviewing the many members of the household proves a huge enterprise, for a local woman had a country weekend for friends, and when the cisterns on the roof broke and drenched her house, she begged Ash to take in her guests until her home is cleaned. In that group of guests is Charlotte's sister, Livia, plus two of London's most notorious gossips, sisters Lady Avery and Lady Somersby, who have taken it upon themselves to snoop through Ash's house and question the staff. This puts the real detectives and Holmes in a difficult position, for the gossips are happy to make Ash look like the culprit.

Charlotte (a.k.a. Sherrinford), wonders if her nemesis, Moriarty, is involved, but she has others to consider too. The combined investigation, along with her personal issues, make for a very interesting tale. There are plenty of red herrings and some very real surprises for one and all, including Ash who discovers something about Charlotte.

THE HOLLOW OF FEAR is a lot of fun. There are all sorts of twists and turns, lots of characters with plenty of issues, and a very well written mystery with a surprising conclusion.

Jani Brooks